Girl A: A Novel
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

They were a cause célèbre, the six Gracie children, when the police discovered them in chains, filthy, malnourished, and in critical condition. Their father committed suicide before the police arrived; their mother survived to be sentenced to 25 years in prison. As this remarkable novel begins, 15 years have passed, and the mother has died, naming as the executor her oldest daughter, Alexandra, known to the family as Lex and to the authorities as Girl A. The estate consists of 20,000 pounds (the novel is set in England). Lex quickly decides that the family home, known locally as the House of Horrors, should be transformed into a community center, but to do that she will have to get her siblings to sign off on the idea. Will she succeed? Told in Lex's arresting first-person voice, the novel moves back and forth in time, revealing the siblings' ghastly childhood and their current condition. In the process, Dean does a brilliant job of character development, starting with Lex herself, who is now a successful attorney--thanks partially to the years of therapy necessary to deal with her memories and with her monstrous father. Lex is a fascinating study in abnormal psychology, and the novel is, altogether, a tour de force, beautifully written, richly imagined, and compulsively readable. Add to this its grave, sometimes ominous tone, and the result is unforgettable.

Alexandra "Lex" Gracie, the protagonist of Dean's harrowing debut, grew up in an abusive home in Hollowfield, England, from which she escaped 15 years earlier and freed her older brother and four younger siblings. Her father committed suicide the day of her escape; her mother, Deborah, later went to prison; and she and her brothers and sisters were placed in foster homes. Now a 30-something lawyer in New York City, Lex returns to England after she learns Deborah has died of cancer. Deborah has made Lex the executor of her estate, which includes the Hollowfield house. Lex wants to turn the "house of horrors" into a community center, but she needs approval from each of her siblings to do so. Meanwhile, her identity as Girl A, as she was identified in the press at the time of her escape, resurfaces, forcing her to recollect the abuse and negligence they all endured from their parents. The frequent and ambiguous narrative shifts from past to present can be hard to follow, but the author skillfully brings the complicated relationships among the siblings as well as the secrets they share into dramatic relief. This assured psychological thriller marks Dean as a writer to watch. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Feb.)

*Starred Review* They were a cause célèbre, the six Gracie children, when the police discovered them in chains, filthy, malnourished, and in critical condition. Their father committed suicide before the police arrived; their mother survived to be sentenced to 25 years in prison. As this remarkable novel begins, 15 years have passed, and the mother has died, naming as the executor her oldest daughter, Alexandra, known to the family as Lex and to the authorities as Girl A. The estate consists of 20,000 pounds (the novel is set in England). Lex quickly decides that the family home, known locally as the House of Horrors, should be transformed into a community center, but to do that she will have to get her siblings to sign off on the idea. Will she succeed? Told in Lex's arresting first-person voice, the novel moves back and forth in time, revealing the siblings' ghastly childhood and their current condition. In the process, Dean does a brilliant job of character development, starting with Lex herself, who is now a successful attorney—thanks partially to the years of therapy necessary to deal with her memories and with her monstrous father. Lex is a fascinating study in abnormal psychology, and the novel is, altogether, a tour de force, beautifully written, richly imagined, and compulsively readable. Add to this its grave, sometimes ominous tone, and the result is unforgettable. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Alexandra "Lex" Gracie, the protagonist of Dean's harrowing debut, grew up in an abusive home in Hollowfield, England, from which she escaped 15 years earlier and freed her older brother and four younger siblings. Her father committed suicide the day of her escape; her mother, Deborah, later went to prison; and she and her brothers and sisters were placed in foster homes. Now a 30-something lawyer in New York City, Lex returns to England after she learns Deborah has died of cancer. Deborah has made Lex the executor of her estate, which includes the Hollowfield house. Lex wants to turn the "house of horrors" into a community center, but she needs approval from each of her siblings to do so. Meanwhile, her identity as Girl A, as she was identified in the press at the time of her escape, resurfaces, forcing her to recollect the abuse and negligence they all endured from their parents. The frequent and ambiguous narrative shifts from past to present can be hard to follow, but the author skillfully brings the complicated relationships among the siblings as well as the secrets they share into dramatic relief. This assured psychological thriller marks Dean as a writer to watch. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Feb.)